Wednesday, August 6, 2008

I remember hearing about Blue Gentians when we were in Switzerland way back in 1974. I don't recall seeing any of them, but apparently they were legendary there, just like the Edelweiss.Now fast forward 34 years, where I was found wandering around on a day in May at one of my favorite garden centers - Beining Nursery. Looking up and down the rows of perennials, Gentiana dahurica jumped right out at me.

Blue Gentian.

It wasn't blooming, so I consulted the tag:

One of the easiest gentians to grow, this species is a great addition to rock gardens! The deep blue, 1”, bell-shaped flowers bloom in mid- to late summer. The lance-shaped leaves form a basal rosette. Plants like cool weather, full sun, and good drainage. The basal foliage can grow up to 6” tall, while in bloom the plant will reach 12” tall. Zone 4.

The picture on the tag shows a brilliantly blue flower. I love blue flowers. So I took the last two pots and just like that, I've got Blue Gentian. It's probably not the Swiss one, but there are several varieties, even over there, so who knows. A few weeks ago, it started blooming and ohhhhhhh, that BLUE!

I don't know if I can put into words or even if any picture I post here can adequately represent the hue of blue that my Gentian wears. I'd advise that you get one (or three) of your own, then you'll see what I mean!

You've caught the Gentian bug! They are such a wonderful blue, especially at this time of year. For some reason, they do incredibly well here. I've got four different varieties growing and am always hoping to find others to add to the garden. What I love about them too, is that they are problem-free. They nicely increase every year and never fail to delight!

My daughter brought me 4 packets of alpine seeds from Switzerland ("smuggled" inside a book) last summer and the blue gentian was among them. I left it too late to start them from seed this summer, but hope to be able to start at least a sampling of all of them for next year. Yours are stunningly blue. :)

About Me

Living and gardening in NW Ohio with my husband, ten cats, and six chickens, I was bitten by the gardening bug in 2005. It soon became my passion. Writing was next (2007) and the two joined forces. Now I write for a local newspaper, two regional gardening magazines, and am the book review editor for Horticulture magazine.

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